Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, directed by Emile Ardolino and starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, and featuring Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach. Originally a low-budget film by a new studio, Vestron Pictures, Dirty Dancing became a box office hit. As of 2009, it has earned over $214 million worldwide. It was the first film to sell more than a million copies on home video, and the Dirty Dancing soundtrack created by Jimmy Ienner generated two multi-platinum albums and multiple singles, including "(I've Had) The Time of My Life", which won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song, and a Grammy Award for best duet. The film's popularity led to a 2004 prequel, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and a stage version which has had sellout performances in Australia, Europe, and North America. A made-for-TV remake was released in 2017. Unlike the original theatrical film, the remake received negative reviews from critics. Plot In the summer of 1963, 17-year-old Frances "Baby" Houseman is vacationing with her family at Kellerman's,5 a resort in the Catskill Mountains. Baby, the younger of two daughters, plans to study economics in underdeveloped countries and enter the Peace Corps. Her father, Jake, is the doctor and friend of Max Kellerman, the resort proprietor. Baby develops a crush on the resort's dance instructor, Johnny Castle, and meets his cousin, Billy. The staff holds secret after-hours parties in their quarters, and Baby is surprised by their "dirty dancing". Intrigued, Baby receives a brief, impromptu dance lesson from Johnny. Baby discovers that Johnny's dance partner, Penny Johnson, is pregnant by Robbie Gould, a womanizing waiter who is cheating on Baby's older sister, Lisa. Baby borrows money from her father to pay for Penny's illegal abortion without explaining why. Penny eventually accepts the money but identifies another issue. Penny will miss her weekly dance performance if she goes for the abortion, forfeiting Penny's and Johnny's salary for the season. Billy suggests that Baby fill in for her. Johnny's scoffing overcomes Baby's initial resistance. Billy and Penny insist that Johnny can teach anyone to dance. Johnny teaches Baby the mambo, and the two spend several awkward practice sessions together. Baby gradually improves, and they develop a romantic attraction. Billy takes Penny to an abortionist. Johnny's and Baby's performance is mostly successful, although Baby is too nervous to accomplish the dance's climactic lift. Johnny and Baby return to Kellerman's and find Penny in agony. Billy explains that the "doctor" turned out to be a back-alley hack. Baby brings her father to help Penny. Johnny claims responsibility for her pregnancy out of fear that Penny will be fired if her relationship with Robbie is revealed. Jake treats Penny but forbids Baby from associating with Johnny or his friends. After Baby apologizes to Johnny for her father's behavior, they dance and have sex. At breakfast, Jake tells his family they will be leaving the resort early but relents when they object. Baby continues to see Johnny despite her father's warning. She pulls Johnny off the footpath when her father is nearby, and Johnny is hurt that she will not stand up for him. After Robbie taunts them, Johnny assaults him. Due to his growing feelings for Baby, Johnny refuses payment for sex with another guest, Vivian Pressman. Vivian has sex with Robbie in his cabin, and Lisa accidentally interrupts them. When Vivian leaves the cabin the next morning, she sees Baby leave Johnny's cabin. Over breakfast, Max and Neil Kellerman reveal to the Housemans that Moe Pressman's wallet was stolen. Vivian accuses Johnny of the theft in a fit of jealousy. Johnny is unable to provide a verifiable alibi, to protect his relationship with Baby. To save Johnny from being fired, Baby confesses she was with him. Johnny is cleared of the theft after it is revealed that two elderly guests, Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher, stole several guests' wallets. Max fires Johnny anyway for having a fraternizing affair with Baby. Baby and Johnny embrace and bid farewell to each other, saying they will never regret their affair. Baby pointedly apologizes to Jake for lying about her relationship with Johnny but not for the relationship itself. Baby and her parents watch the end-of-season talent show. Jake gives Robbie a tip in an envelope. Robbie thanks Jake, and reveals that he got Penny pregnant; Jake yanks the envelope back. Staff and guests (including Lisa) are singing the closing song together when Johnny interrupts them to perform the last dance of the season. Johnny leads Baby onstage and makes a brief speech about how "Frances" has made him a better man. Baby and Johnny dance a more provocative version of their mambo duet, and the other "dirty dancers" join in. Baby runs to Johnny and executes the elusive lift move they practiced. The dirty dancers pull guests from their seats to join in the celebration. Jake apologizes to Johnny for thinking he got Penny pregnant and reconciles with Baby. All dance joyously to "(I've Had) The Time of My Life". Cast * Jennifer Grey as Frances "Baby" Houseman * Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle * Cynthia Rhodes as Penny Johnson * Jerry Orbach as Doctor Jake Houseman * Jane Brucker as Lisa Houseman * Jack Weston as Max Kellerman * Lonny Price as Neil Kellerman * Kelly Bishop as Marjorie Houseman * Antone Pagán as The Staff Kid * Max Cantor as Robbie Gould * Charles Coles as Tito Suarez * Neal Jones as Billy Kostecki * Miranda Garrison as Vivian Pressman * Garry Goodrow as Moe Pressman * Wayne Knight as Stan * Paula Trueman as Mrs. Schumacher * Alvin Myerovich as Mr. Schumacher Soundtrack # "Be My Baby" – The Ronettes # "Big Girls Don't Cry" – Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons # "Where Are You Tonight?" – Tom Johnston # "Do You Love Me" – The Contours # "Love Man" – Otis Redding # "Stay" – Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs # "Hungry Eyes" – Eric Carmen # "Overload" – Zappacosta # "Hey! Baby" – Bruce Channel # "De Todo Un Poco" – Melon # "Some Kind of Wonderful" – The Drifters # "These Arms Of Mine" – Otis Redding # "Cry to Me" – Solomon Burke # "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" – The Shirelles # "Love Is Strange" – Mickey & Sylvia # "You Don't Own Me" – The Blow Monkeys # "Yes" – Merry Clayton # "In the Still of the Night" – The Five Satins # "She's Like the Wind" – Patrick Swayze # "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" – Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes Note: Actress Jane Brucker wrote the song "Hula Hana," which she performed in her role of Lisa in the show rehearsal scene. Production Pre-production Dirty Dancing is based in large part on screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein's own childhood: she is the younger daughter of a Jewish doctor from New York, spent summers with her family in the Catskills, participated in "Dirty Dancing" competitions, and was herself nicknamed "Baby" as a girl. In 1980, Bergstein wrote a screenplay for the Michael Douglas film, It's My Turn. However, the producers cut an erotic dancing scene from the script, much to her dismay. She then conceived a new story, focused almost exclusively on dancing. In 1984, she pitched the idea to MGM executive Eileen Miselle, who liked it and teamed Bergstein with producer Linda Gottlieb. They set the film in 1963, with the character of Baby based on Bergstein's own life, and the character of Johnny based on the stories of Michael Terrace, a dance instructor whom Bergstein met in the Catskills in 1985 while she was researching the story. She finished the script in November 1985, but management changes at MGM put the script into turnaround, or limbo. Bergstein then shopped the script around to other studios but was repeatedly rejected, until she brought it to Vestron Pictures, the newly formed studio division of Stamford, Connecticut, based Vestron Inc., the leading independent home video distribution company. While honing their pitch to Vestron, Gottlieb and Bergstein chose Emile Ardolino as the film's director, who had won the 1983 Academy Award for the documentary, He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'. Ardolino had never directed a feature film, but was extremely passionate about the project; he even sent a message from where he was sequestered on jury duty, insisting that he was the best choice as director. The team of Gottlieb, Bergstein, and Ardolino then presented their vision for the film to Vestron's president, Jon Peisinger, and the company's vice president for production, Mitchell Cannold. By the end of the meeting, Peisinger had greenlighted the project to become Vestron's first feature film production. The approved film was budgeted at the relatively low amount of $5 million, at a time when the average cost for a film was $12 million. For choreographer, Bergstein chose Kenny Ortega, who had been trained by Gene Kelly. For a location, they did not find anything suitable in the Catskills (as many of the resorts had been shut down at that point), so they decided on a combination of two locations: Lake Lure, North Carolina and the Mountain Lake Hotel near Pembroke, Virginia, and with careful editing made it look like all shooting was done in the same area. Casting Director Ardolino was adamant that they choose dancers who could also act, as he did not want to use the "stand-in" method that had been used with Flashdance (1983). For the female lead of Frances "Baby" Houseman, Bergstein chose the 26-year-old Jennifer Grey, daughter of the Oscar-winning actor and dancer Joel Grey (e.g., of the film Cabaret (1972)), who, like her father, was a trained dancer. They then sought a male lead, initially considering 20-year-old Billy Zane, who had the visual look desired (originally the Johnny character was to be Italian and have a dark exotic look), but initial dancing tests when he was partnered with Grey did not meet expectations. The next choice was 34-year-old Patrick Swayze, who had been noticed for his roles in Grandview, U.S.A. (1984) and Red Dawn (1984). He was a seasoned dancer, with experience from the Joffrey Ballet. The producers were thrilled with him, but his agent was opposed to the idea. However, Swayze read the script, liked the multi-level character of Johnny, and took the part anyway, and Johnny was changed from being Italian to Irish. Grey was initially not happy about the choice, as she and Swayze had difficulty getting along on Red Dawn, but when they did their dancing screen test, the chemistry between them was obvious. Bergstein described it as "breathtaking". Other casting choices were Broadway actor Jerry Orbach as Dr. Jake Houseman, Baby's father; and Jane Brucker as Lisa Houseman, her older sister. Bergstein also attempted to cast her friend, sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, to play Mrs. Schumacher, and Joel Grey as her husband. However, Westheimer backed out when she learned the role involved being a thief. The role went instead to 89-year-old Paula Trueman, and Joel Grey was not cast. Another role went to Bergstein's friend, New York radio personality "Cousin Brucie". She initially wanted him to portray the social director but then later asked him to play the part of the magician. The role of the social director went to the then unknown Wayne Knight (of later Seinfeld and 3rd Rock from the Sun fame).13 The part of Baby's mother was originally given to Lynne Lipton, who is briefly visible in the beginning, when the Houseman family first pulls into Kellerman's (she is in the front seat for a few seconds; her blonde hair is the only indication), but she became ill during the first week of shooting and was replaced by actress Kelly Bishop, who had already been cast to play Vivian Pressman, the highly sexed resort guest. Bishop moved into the role of Mrs. Houseman, and the film's assistant choreographer Miranda Garrison took on the role of Vivian. Filming Principal photography for Dirty Dancing took place in Lake Lure, North Carolina, and Mountain Lake, Virginia. Scenes in Lake Lure were filmed at the old Boys Camp, which is now a private, residential community known as Firefly Cove. These scenes included the interior dancing scenes, Baby carrying the watermelon and practicing on the signature stairs, Johnny's cabin, the staff cabins, the golf scene where Baby asks her father for $250. Scenes filmed at Mountain Lake included the famous "water lift" scene, dining scenes, Kellerman's Hotel, the beach games, Penny crying in the kitchen, and the Houseman family's cabins. The tight schedule allowed only two weeks for rehearsal and 44 days for filming, as it was already the tail end of summer. The cast stayed in the same hotel at Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke, Virginia and at the 1927 Lake Lure Inn & Spa in Lake Lure, N.C. Rehearsals quickly turned into disco parties involving nearly every cast member, even non-dancers such as Jack Weston. The dancing and drinking went on almost non-stop and, immersed in the environment, the lead actors, Grey and Swayze, began identifying with their characters. Bergstein built upon this, encouraging the actors to improvise in their scenes. She also built the sexual tension by saying that no matter how intimate or "grinding" the dance steps, that none of the dancers were to have any other kind of physical contact with each other for the next six months. Filming started on September 5, 1986 but was plagued by the weather, which ranged from pouring rain to sweltering heat. The outside temperature rose to 105 °F (41 °C), and with all the additional camera and lighting equipment needed for filming, the temperature inside could be as high as 120 °F (49 °C). According to choreographer Kenny Ortega, on one day 10 people passed out within 25 minutes of shooting. The elderly Paula Trueman collapsed and was taken to the local emergency room to be treated for dehydration. Patrick Swayze also required a hospital visit; insisting on doing his own stunts, he repeatedly fell off the log during the "balancing" scene and injured his knee so badly he had to have fluid drained from the swelling. Delays in the shooting schedule pushed filming into the autumn, which required the set decorators to spray-paint the autumn leaves green. The uncooperative weather then took a different turn, plunging from oppressive heat to down near 40 °F (4 °C), causing frigid conditions for the famous swimming scene in October. The crew wore warm coats, gloves, and boots. Swayze and Grey stripped down to light summer clothing, to repeatedly dive into the cold water.11 Despite her character's enjoyment, Grey later described the water as "horrifically" cold, and she might not have gone into the lake, except that she was "young and hungry". Relations between the two main stars varied throughout production. They had already had trouble getting along in their previous project, Red Dawn (1984), and worked things out enough to have an extremely positive screen test, but that initial cooperation soon faded, and they were soon "facing off" before every scene.12 There was concern among the production staff that the animosity between the two stars would endanger the filming of the love scenes. To address this, producer Bergstein and director Ardolino forced the stars to re-watch their initial screen-tests—the ones with the "breathtaking" chemistry. This had the desired effect, and Swayze and Grey were able to return to the film with renewed energy and enthusiasm. Director Ardolino encouraged the actors to improvise and often kept the cameras rolling, even if actors went "off script". One example of this was the scene where Grey was to stand in front of Swayze with her back to him and put her arm up behind his head while he trailed his fingers down her arm (similar to the pose seen in the movie poster). Though it was written as a serious and tender moment, Grey was exhausted, found the move ticklish, and could not stop giggling each time Swayze tried it, no matter how many takes Ardolino asked for. Swayze was impatient to finish the scene and found Grey's behavior annoying. However, the producers decided the scene worked as it was and put it into the film, complete with Grey's giggling and Swayze's annoyed expression. It became one of the most famous scenes in the movie, turning out, as choreographer Kenny Ortega put it, "as one of the most delicate and honest moments in the film." Post-production The shooting wrapped on October 27, 1986, both on-time and on-budget. No one on the team, however, liked the rough cut that was put together, and Vestron executives were convinced the film was going to be a flop. Thirty-nine percent of people who viewed the film did not realize abortion was the subplot. In May 1987, the film was screened for producer Aaron Russo. According to Vestron executive Mitchell Cannold, Russo's reaction at the end was to say simply, "Burn the negative, and collect the insurance." Further disputes arose over whether a corporate sponsor could be found to promote the film. Marketers of the Clearasil acne product liked the film, seeing it as a vehicle to reach a teen target audience. However, when they learned the film contained an abortion scene, they asked for that part of the plot to be cut. As Bergstein refused, the Clearasil promotion was dropped. Consequently, Vestron promoted the film themselves and set the premiere on August 16, 1987. The Vestron executives had planned to release the film in theaters for a weekend, and then send it to home video, since Vestron had been in the video distribution business before film production.6 Considering how many people disliked the film at that point, producer Gottlieb's recollection of her feelings at the time was, "I would have only been grateful, if when it was released, people didn't yell at me." Reception Critical response Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 72% based on reviews from 61 critics and a rating average of 6.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Like its winsome characters, Dirty Dancing uses impressive choreography and the power of song to surmount a series of formidable obstacles." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale. For the film's opening, The New York Times published a review titled "Dirty Dancing Rocks to an Innocent Beat". The Times reviewer called the film "a metaphor for America in the summer of 1963 – orderly, prosperous, bursting with good intentions, a sort of Yiddish-inflected Camelot." Other reviews were more mixed: Gene Siskel gave the film a "marginal Thumbs Up" as he liked Jennifer Grey's acting and development of her character, while Roger Ebert gave it "Thumbs Down" due to its "idiot plot", calling it a "tired and relentlessly predictable story of love between kids from different backgrounds." TIME magazine was lukewarm, saying, "If the ending of Eleanor Bergstein's script is too neat and inspirational, the rough energy of the film's song and dance does carry one along, past the whispered doubts of better judgment." In a retrospective review, Jezebel's Irin Carmon called the film "the greatest movie of all time" as "a great, brave movie for women" with "some subtle, retrospectively sharp-eyed critiques of class and gender." Abortion rights advocates have called the film the "gold standard" for cinematic portrayals of abortion, which author Yannis Tzioumakis described as offering a "compassionate depiction of abortion in which the woman seeking an abortion was not demonized with the primary concerns being her health and preserving her capacity to bear children at a future time rather than the ethical dilemma that might or might not inform her decision, a portrayal that is not necessarily available in current films." The film drew adult audiences instead of the expected teens, with viewers rating the film highly. Many filmgoers, after seeing the film once, went right back into the theater to watch it a second time.14 Word-of-mouth promotion took the film to the number one position in the United States, and in 10 days it had broken the $10 million mark. By November, it was also achieving international fame. Within seven months of release, it had brought in $63 million in the US and boosted attendance in dance classes across America.12 It was one of the highest-grossing films of 1987, earning $170 million worldwide. The film's popularity continued to grow after its initial release. It was the number one video rental of 1988 and became the first film to sell a million copies on video. When the film was re-released in 1997, ten years after its original release, Swayze received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and videos were still selling at the rate of over 40,000 per month. As of 2005, it was selling a million DVDs per year, with over ten million copies sold as of 2007. A May 2007 survey by Britain's Sky Movies listed Dirty Dancing as number one on "Women's most-watched films", above the Star Wars trilogy, Grease, The Sound of Music, and Pretty Woman. The film's popularity has also caused it to be called "the Star Wars for girls." An April 2008 article in Britain's Daily Mail listed Dirty Dancing as number one on a list of "most romantic movie quotes ever", for Baby's line: "I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you." The film's music has also had considerable impact. The closing song, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life", has been listed as the "third most popular song played at funerals" in the UK. Awards and honors Jennifer Grey at the 1988 Academy Awards The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: * 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #93 * 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: ** "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" – #86 ** "Do You Love Me" – Nominated42 * 2005: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes: ** Johnny Castle: "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." – #98 * 2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated Category:Movies